Final Draft Blog

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Five Lessons Writers Can Learn From The Handmaid’s Tale

November 29, 2017

The Hulu series The Handmaid’s Tale recently swept the Emmys, winning 8 out of the 13 awards it was nominated for, including Outstanding Drama Series. Based on the 1985 novel by Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale tells the story of a future where h...

Big Break TV Winner Rowan Wheeler talks SOCIO-PAM

April 10, 2017

Mention television shows about sociopaths, and we automatically call up Dexter, Hannibal – twisted, dramatic, even horrifying. But can a person lacking empathy and a conscience be the protagonist of a humorous show?

Former Big Break Finalists Talk Landing Jobs as Showrunner's Assistants on "Supernatural" and "The 100"

March 27, 2017

What is it like to be a Showrunners' Assistant on a hit show? 2016 Big Break finalists Meghan Fitzmartin and Paula Sabbaga take us behind the scenes of Supernatural and The 100, discuss their journeys from Big Break to The CW and remind us the import...

Holiday TV Movies: The Busiest Genre You May Have Overlooked

December 30, 2016

2016 is on its way out but there’s still time for you to research a busy and often overlooked genre: Holiday TV movies. While there are those who would scoff at the idea of deliberately striving to work in the world of TV movies, that just means ther...

TV Pilot Writing: Building the Skeleton of Your Show

October 28, 2016

So you’ve got an interesting idea for a pilot and rich, complex characters. What now?

TV Pilot Writing: Developing Your World of Characters

October 13, 2016

Writing an original pilot can be just as daunting as writing a feature, though shorter in length. While a feature captures a moment in time, a pilot begins a longer journey. In a pilot, you need to tell a complete story, while also introducing the po...

Better Call Saul writer Gennifer Hutchison on how she learned to be an asset to the writers' room in any role

July 6, 2016

Television writer Gennifer Hutchison has spent time in some of the most famous writers' rooms of recent years. Her roles have spanned everything from producer’s assistant to supervising producer on the wildly popular and critically acclaimed Better C...

Final Draft Insider View With Comedian-Screenwriter Jim Jefferies

March 3, 2016

Comedian-screenwriter-actor Jim Jefferies bares all about his writing process, getting a series on the air, and killing off characters - even disabled ones.

Write On with 'Blackish' creator Kenya Barris

March 1, 2016

‘Black-ish’ co-showrunners, Kenya Barris and Jonathan Groff, discuss the road to creating hit shows Talented television creators Kenya Barris and Jonathan Groff have teamed up on the new hit ABC television show 'Black-ish'.